The experiment
by the crazy cat lady
Summary: The injections were to make us as human as possible; we would sleep, breath, eat, lose our powers and strength, as well as our speed. they choose one member from each coven. Me, Carlisle, Zafrina, Siobhan and Amun were the ones that volunteered, as the leaders of our covens we felt like it was our responsibility to take the risk. Apparently it didnt mix well with animal blood.


**I own nothing but the story line.**

**Tanya POV**

We laughed among ourselves, giddy and tense with nervous excitement. Zafrina and Carlisle bickered over something that didn't exist, probably just to distract themselves from what was about to happen.

Heidi produced a long thin needle and squirted some of the clear fluid it contained into the air. I watched as if it were a cliché scene out of a movie.  
"Who's first?" she asked, waving the thing in the air. None of us moved a muscle.  
"I'll do it," Amun said reluctantly after a still silence. He stepped forward exposing his arm. Heidi dug for a vein, apparently finding one easily, and then he was done, stepping back into our clustered group. I noticed him rubbing his arm repeatedly, his eyes wet with tears he couldn't cry. It must have hurt more than they wanted to tell us. Zafrina put her arm half around him, rubbing his back. He shrugged her off as Carlisle stepped forward.

Heidi eyed him suspiciously, as if she were worried.  
"What?" he asked, unnerved by her.  
"Nothing major," she replied. "Just not sure how well this going to go down with your animal blood, that's all."  
He gave her his arm. As soon as she put it in I knew something was wrong. Thin red streaks raced up his arms where his veins should have been. He let out a low hiss and she glanced up at him.  
"Do you want me to take it out?"  
"Keep going," he murmured. He didn't sound as upset as I thought he would.  
"I think I missed…" she told him after a few moment of wriggling it.  
"It's okay, just take it out and put it back in again."  
She did, and then repeated the action four more times and was still unsuccessful.

"Try me," Zafrina said. She unsheathed another needle and did it easily. Carlisle looked uneasy. The red was still spidered up his arm.

Me and Siobhan looked at each other and then I stepped forward.

It hurt an incredible amount. Even just the metal piercing my skin burnt like I had been bitten again. I couldn't help the whimper that escaped me as she pushed the fluid in. It stung as it travelled along my vein, as if lighting a fire inside of me.  
"It's okay," Carlisle hugged me and I realised I was sobbing.  
"I don't think it hurt me that much," Zafrina told Heidi. Heidi shook her head.  
"It wouldn't have, it's because she's a vegetarian. That's why I'm worried about him," she gestured to Carlisle. "Because he hasn't fed on human blood he's vulnerable to everything."  
He shrugged. "I haven't died yet."  
She rolled her eyes and stuck the injection in Siobhan who flinched but didn't do much more.

She then turned back to Carlisle. After nine attempts, she still hadn't gotten a vein to put it in, and he was almost in tears. She had tried both arms and the backs of his hands.  
"Can I try?" he asked her. His voice shook as much as his hands were. She looked at him sceptically, but held out the needle. He took it and I could see him trying to calm himself down.  
He slid it under his skin at his wrist, the syringe going into the palm of his hand.

We cheered when he was successful. He looked like he was going to be sick.  
"Come on you, inside," Zafrina said, pulling him in the door of where we were going to be staying.

_The injections were to make us as human as possible; we would sleep, breath, eat, lose our powers and strength, as well as our speed. The Volturi needed someone to test it on, so they choose one member from each coven. Me, Carlisle, Zafrina, Siobhan and Amun were the ones that volunteered, as the leaders of our covens we felt like it was our responsibility to take the risk. Apparently it didn't mix well with animal blood.  
Now we were staying in a house together in the Volturi castle where they could keep an eye on us. Aro claimed it was 'bonding' experience, as if we weren't close enough already for it to be a danger to him.  
For now, until the medicine kicked in, we had things like indestructible furniture to make us feel as human as possible. _

"You okay?" I asked Carlisle, more for my comfort than his. He was half lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling with his feet still on the floor.  
"Yeah, are you?" He obviously wasn't.  
"Yes." Neither of us were. My entire body felt as though I had been hit by a truck, everything ached and my stomach kept rolling, threatening to make me sick. I guessed he felt the same, if not worse. He pretty much hadn't moved since we got in.  
"2 minutes and 35 seconds," he said quietly.  
"What?" I asked confused.  
"I can only hold my breath for 2:35."  
"Oh." I started counting as well. "4:09."  
"Damn."  
I laughed and he sighed, moving to sit up a bit more.  
"Are you coming to try the food that they brought us?" I asked. There was a full feast on the kitchen table. He looked hesitant.  
"Um…I guess so…" He got to his feet and followed me out to where the others were.

"HE LIVES!" Amun cheered when we came out.  
"Yay…" mumble Carlisle in return, nowhere near as enthusiastic. I sat and he sat next to me.  
Food was put in front of us.  
To be fair to them, it did look nice, but when I put it in my mouth all it tasted like was cardboard.  
"Is it supposed to taste like something?" Zafrina asked the cook.  
"When the vaccine had kicked in fully, yes," the cook replied. We all laughed and kept eating the flavourless dinner.  
"Carlisle, you have to actually put food in your mouth," Siobhan whispered quietly to him. When I glanced over, all he was doing was chasing it around his plate with his fork. He shook his head subtly at her.  
The other two didn't seem to notice their exchange.

"Uh oh," Siobhan muttered quietly. I searched for the problem as she got up. Carlisle was gone. "I don't think he was ready to eat," she told me.  
"Oh," I said in understanding. She went down the hallway after him.

A few minutes later she was back. I raised my eyebrows at her.  
"He locked me out." She smiled when she said it, giggling a little bit.  
"Is he sick?" Zafrina asked.  
"Yep."  
"I thought he was the most human out of all of us," Amun muttered, joking even though it was true. We nodded.  
I noticed the more I ate, the less nauseous I became, which was peculiar. When we were done, we all fell into bed, surprisingly exhausted.

Slowly, I started to wake up. It was about 3am. I stared at the roof, trying not to fall back into my slumber. The dream had been far from a little disturbing.  
Feeling like a small child, I crept down the hallway and turned on all the lights in the longue and kitchen. Then I curled up on the couch, rolling up into a ball. I tried not to cry.  
"What are you doing up?" someone asked me. I turned around to seek the source of the voice.  
"I-I couldn't sleep…?" I told Carlisle sheepishly. I wasn't about to tell him I had had a nightmare and was scared. "What about you? Are you okay?" He wiped the back of his hand across his face. I noticed it was damp as though he had been crying and his cheeks were slightly pink. It didn't really make sense seeming as we could neither cry or blush.  
"Yes, me neither." He sat down next to me, pulling his knees up and resting his chin on them. Silence enveloped us.  
"What's wrong?" I asked after a rather long pause. He wiped his face again, subconsciously.  
"Don't laugh…"  
I giggled. "I promise."  
"You just did! I'm not telling you now." He looked away but he was smiling.  
"Please?"  
"It's stupid but…I had a nightmare…oh god that sounds even more childish out loud." He laughed and hid his face from me. I laughed as well; glad I wasn't the only one. Maybe it was a side effect. "I told you you would laugh," he mumbled quietly.  
"I'm not laughing at you."  
"Sure."  
"No, really, I'm laughing cause I had one too. That's why I'm out here."  
"Now we're both babies."  
"Yep."

Some form of animal landed heavily on the roof, creating a loud band. We both jumped and slid closer to each other at the same time, giggling when we realised what the other person was doing.  
"I feel so stupid right now," he murmured.  
"So do I." After a while I caught myself drifting in and out of sleep. "I think I need to go back to bed," I told him.  
He nodded but I thought I could see fear reflected in his eyes. I contemplated staying, but I could barely stay awake. As soon as I was asleep the dream returned.

"Hey, what happened with Carlisle last night?" Amun whispered to me while we fixed breakfast. He looked worried.  
"I don't know, what makes you ask?" Even though it was eleven o'clock, I had only just gotten up and had missed the mornings events.  
"I'm not sure, but Zafrina blanked him or something to get him to calm down. He was freaking out, I think maybe about what Heidi said…" he kept talking, but I wasn't listening.  
"I'll be back soon," I interrupted him, already walking away.

"Can I come in?" I asked, knocking on his partially closed door.  
"Yes," he replied quietly. I opened it, coming and sitting on the bed. He was sitting on the edge with his head in his hands.  
"Carlisle…" I put my arm around his waist. He squirmed but otherwise let me. "Do you not feel well?"  
"No…"  
"Then what's wrong?"  
"Tired," he mumbled.  
"Why don't you go to sleep then?" I asked gently, smiling at how young he sounded. It reminded me that he was the youngest by quite a lot out of the five of us. It had to be by at least 260 years.  
He shook his head. "Because…because I'll dream again." I recognised his panic attack before it even started. "I want to go home," he said quietly, getting up and starting pacing.  
"No you don't, you just need to go to sleep, then you'll feel better about everything." The previous morning he had been more excited about this than anyone, even Aro.  
"How long do we have to stay here?"  
"As long as Aro says so, until his little experiment is complete. You know that, Carlisle." He started hyperventilating.  
"And how long is that?"  
"You're going to make yourself dizzy, slow down a bit."  
"Tanya-" He really was panicking now.  
"I don't know," I admitted. "Stop Carlisle." I got up and grabbed him so he was still.

The warmth under his skin made me gasp. I could feel a weak pulse. Fear rooted itself deep in my stomach. Nobody had told us about this. It wasn't supposed to happen.  
"Do you feel okay? I mean a part from tired?" I asked cautiously, trying not to show him my fear.  
He hesitantly shook his head 'no'. "Do you still feel sick from yesterday?" he asked.  
"No, not since dinner."  
He bit his lip and looked away. "I think something's wrong with me…" he said quietly, almost a whimper.  
"Why, what's wrong?"  
"Everything."

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